Sometimes there are quick interviews. Sometimes there are really long interviews, where the conversation ranges from focusing on concrete details to going off on wild tangents. Such was the case last week when I sat down with brewers Ty Levis and John Seabrooks at Rio Bravo. It took me a while to sort out the…
Category: Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2015-16
Ponderosa plows ahead even after changing brewers again
Ponderosa Brewing has endured a fair amount of change since opening in September 2014. They are already on their third head brewer, yet have managed to build up a strong following in the Sawmill District and from beer lovers all around town. To tackle how 2015 went, and what 2016 holds for Ponderosa, it took…
Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande look forward to new beers, anniversary parties and more in 2016
For this next installment of our Look Back/Look Ahead Series, I talked to brewer/owner Rich Weber of Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande Brewing Company in their (newly re-branded) brewpub location in the Uptown Mall in Albuquerque. He told us of a 2015 with much behind the scenes growth, and a 2016 with more beers and events to…
Pi Brewing expands their circle of influence
As part of our annual Look Back/Look Ahead series, I chatted with owners Greg and Nicole Villareal of Pi Brewing/Nicky V’s restaurant on Coors north of Paseo (Nicole = Nicky V) to find out what’s happening with the brewing side of their business. In 2015, they restructured and opened up their back room for music….
Second Street broadened their base a bit in 2015, but there’s big expansion on the horizon for 2016
It’s no secret that Second Street is the second largest production brewery in Santa Fe. And, certainly, they’ve made quite a name for themselves on the local scene with their great food, great service, great music, and ‘always great beer, never a cover,’ to borrow a phrase. They have two locations that are well-known to…
Boxing Bear: A knight’s tale of looking back to look ahead
As I am one of two members of the Brew Crew who reside on the west side of Rio Grande, I have a certain love of breweries nestled on the riverbank or atop the western mesa of my dear ‘Burque. I was living within a short walk of the former bar space that is now…
A tale of Turtle Mountain: Purgatorio behind, Paradiso for the taking.
Time and work have a way of dominating my creative juices at times. I have sat on this and another of our year-end articles for too long by my reckoning, and to the consternation of my editor to be sure. (Yeah, just a bit. — S) A while back I had the utmost pleasure of sitting…
Santa Fe Brewing Company made some noise in 2015 and aims to be larger and louder in 2016
A lot can happen in a year. Much can change for us, personally and professionally in just 12 months. This is especially true in the ever-changing, rapidly-growing craft beer industry. That’s why the Dark Side Brew Crew does these Look Back/Look Ahead Series articles. It’s hard to predict all that will happen in one year,…
Blue Corn Brewery sailed through smooth waters in 2015 and now aims for big waves in 2016
Greetings from Santa Fe! Luke here with another entry in the Look Back/Look Ahead Series. Recently, I met with brewers James Warren and Kyle Yonan of Blue Corn Brewery to see how their 2015 went and find out what’s in store for craft beer lovers in 2016. We talked about all the changes they saw,…
Kaktus kicks it up a notch with a new taproom and more
My latest story for our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series took me to two different towns. That is what happens when Kaktus Brewing moves out of just their cozy space in Bernalillo and opens a taproom in Nob Hill. That alone was the big move of 2015 for Kaktus, but it was far from the…
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